Calls to exempt for medical students from 7 year loan cap

NZMSA calls for exemptions for medical students from
the 7 year cap on Student Loans

The New Zealand
Medical Students’ Association (NZMSA) called for
exemptions for medical students from the 7-year cap on
access to Student Loans today in an oral submission to the
Finance and Expenditure Select Committee.

“Having 25-30%
of New Zealand’s future doctors at risk of having to
borrow outside the Student Loan scheme in order to pay for
their last year of the medical degree is concerning, as debt
is the greatest driver of graduates away from New Zealand
and we have a significant shortage of doctors,” says NZMSA
president Michael Chen-Xu.

“It is alarming that the
Student Loan Scheme as it currently stands disincentives
doctors trained in New Zealand from working here, especially
given 40% of doctors working in New Zealand are
overseas-trained and the government’s recent investment in
increasing medical student numbers.”

“There are
already significant financial barriers in access to the
medical degree, given that almost half of students accepted
into health professional programmes come from the wealthiest
30% of households – we believe that the 7EFTS cap on
Student Loans will make this worse.”

The NZMSA
submission to the Select Committee criticised the Student
Loan Scheme Amendment Bill for not addressing the negative
impact of the 7-year cap on Student Loans on medical
graduate retention and called an exemption to the cap on
Student Loans for medical students.

The written submission
to the Select Committee can be found online at www.nzmsa.org.nz

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